Hi From Mid-Michigan

Hi, I'm Vicki from Mid-Michigan, near the thumb area, new to this forum but not new to SFG. I did not have much time back in the 80's to have more than one or two SFG boxes and out of habit/lack of time, etc, went back to my farmer dad's methods: gardening in rows.
I saw the new copy of All New Square Foot Gardening yesterday at my local farm store and snatched it right up. After reading the first few chapters I'm beginning to think this is the answer to all my problems. I live in an area of the state where it is mostly poor sand and over the years have mixed in hundreds of soil amendments to no avail. Compost just seemed to disappear as well. Since our old rototiller fell apart, I knew I was facing the purchase of new one this year and since I am in my mid-50's, I knew it was going to be very expensive if I wanted a model that I would be able to handle myself. Now I am thinking I will take that money and put it into supplies for SFG boxes. Looking forward to reading many posts here.

Thanks for your thoughts on cost comparison. I've been working on laying out my very first garden and the cost of building boxes and filling them had gotten me down. Since you've pointed out the expensive tools needed for single row gardening maybe the one time cost of boxes and Mel's mix isn't really that bad after all. You've brightened my outlook a little today, Thanks again!

Jenn ~ Northern Davis County, UT

You know what they say: "Do it right the first time, and only cry once!"

Box materials can be scrounged, and they don't have to be lumber. Blocks, bricks, rocks, RR ties, coffee cans filled with rocks or dirt-get creative.

My neighbor got a bunch of used garage doors for free. That's what he uses for frames.

Putting together Mel's soil mix can get pricey, but it's basically a lifetime investment. Very cheap in the long run.

SFG is the only way to garden

greetings vicki i'm down outside jackson mi. this 'll b my first try at sfg heres a thought the wife brought home like 6 "pairs" of by-fold doors from the habitat for humanity in town for like a dollar a pair. 2 of them might turn inta a couple of planting beds

boog

Hi victoria

Welcome to the SFG forum!

It's great to get ideas from the other members, especially when it SAVES MONEY!

i'm so glad you found that book! when i was reading gardening books a couple years ago after birth of third living kid, the sfg book made the most sense to me - esp since i always thought i didn't have a green thumb. turns out, my thumb IS green, the ground was brown. . . *grin*

you're gonna LOVE sfg!! we sure do here! we spent about $150 last year to set up our initial boxes (equiv of 3 4x4's) and we spent about $200 LESS on produce last summer . . so it was a win win for us. this year, we're planning on doubling our space and seeing if we can elim all produce purchases (except things like tropical fruits and berries - as we don't have any berry plants of any kind yet - but i want a strawberry pyramid something fierce! but i don't expect good production for a year or so. . )